Sunday, June 22, 2008

I arrived at the Rio totally faded and today should be a fun day for as long as that warm fuzzy feeling holds up.

Part of me wants to try to go the entire day without writing about poker. That's an impossible task. I mean it's a totally mellow day with just four tournaments and only one final table, so maybe I can get away with slacking off.

I arrived in the pressbox and it's almost empty except for Aaron and few hungover French media reps who were out celebrating David Benyamine's bracelet victory. The Germans are all hovering around the final table but seriously, I have not seen the press box this empty at 1pm. Sure, it sometimes looks this deserted at 1am, but I'm a little surprised. Seems like everyone decided to take today off.

Event #40 Triple Draw: My buddy Dave was covering the Triple Draw event for Poker News. He told me that both Gobboboy and Lederer showed up late and were seated at the same table. Nothing tops the pic that Benjo snapped a couple of weeks ago that included an uncomfortable Lederer and a jovial Gobboboy.

Fashion Victim of the Day: Again, I'm picking up the slack for Change100 here. In today's pharmie-induced fashion post, I was told that Annie Duke went with plaid shorts and cowboy boots. If there's one thing I read about in fashion magazines (yes, I thumb through them on occasion when I'm dropping a deuce in Change100's bathroom and there's nothing to read except sleazy celebrity tabloid rags and fashion magazines) is that it's never a good choice to mix genres. Annie... you looked so adorable wearing all black, yet at times you looked like a bad ass. The Johnny Cash look works. Stick with it.

* * * * *

2:51pm...

I ran off to the sports book to watch the end of the Italy and Spain match. I caught the entire shootout at the Hooker Bar, which was jam packed with soccer fans and the curious passerby. Spain won the shootout and advanced to the semi-finals where they will meet the Russians. I won my bet but only went 2-2 in the quarterfinals. I broke even. I stood next to two drunk guys who spoke some sort of Slavic language. They had also bet on Spain.

Man, the final four of the European Championship will include a couple of solid matchups... Germany vs. Turkey and Spain vs. Russia. I have bets on both Spain and Germany to win it all which I put in when I first arrived in Vegas and heeded the advice of friends in the European and British press. I got another bet in on Spain yesterday to win it all at 7/2.

As of June 19th, the Russians and the Turks were the too longshots out of the final eight teams. Russia was 15/1 and Turkey a 20/1 favorite to win it all. I should have put down a couple of $20 hedge bets there. Too late. On June 19th, the Dutch were 2/1 favorites and Portugal was a 3/1 favorite. Ah, the two big dogs were picked off by the two underdogs.

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: Down to 4. Lee Watkinson just busted in 5th place. North Carolina's Chris Bell is the chipleader. There's a Texan, a German, and a Belgium left in the mix. 50-50 chance at this point that a European wins a bracelet. Jan von Halle and David Kitai are still in the hunt for their first bracelet. A slew of French pros are in the audience (along with Benjo) sweating Kitai. Katja Thater and a few Germans are sweating Jan.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: Change100 is covering that event over in the Brasilia Room. She said, "I have a feeling that Barry is going to make the final table." She rarely says things like but when she does share those bits of female intuition, she's almost always right. The last time she mentioned something like that? The other morning when she said, "I have a feeling Layne Flack is going to win." Sure enough, Flack took it down.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Stacked field including several former world champions, dozens of multiple bracelet winners, several of the most annoying poker pros in the world who love to berate dealers who have no little experience dealing triple draw. Chris Fargis is in the mix and he's sporting a Brooklyn hoodie (which he admitted belonged to fellow Brooklynite Matt Matros). The G is also in the field and said that he liked his table. During the break, Marcel Luske sat in the press box and chowed down on some fruit. Recent bustouts included Doyle Brunson, John "Schecky" Caldwell, and Sam Grizzle. Gobboboy is short-stacked....

* * * * *

5:48pm...

I know this would make Aunt Maudie happy... I'm eating the fruit salad from the Poker Kitchen!

Event #39 $1.5K NL: I should have taken up Change100 on that Barry Greenstein bet. He busted shortly after I wrote the last update. With Greenstein's departure, the event is down to under 100 players that you have never heard of before.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: Dude, Alex Kravchecko is one scary mofo. He's sitting at a table near the press box and he's wearing dark sunglasses and looks like a thug that would show up to your house after you stiffed your bookie for two weeks.

* * * * *

7:27pm...

Change100's event is on a dinner break and I escorted her to the Poker Kitchen. The doors leading out are super dangerous. I've gotten hit a couple of times and you really have to be careful going both ways. Anyway, Change100 pushed one door open and the door flew open and nailed a guy in the arm. He dropped an entire plate of fries. He shook his head and somberly walked away. I got the feeling that he was having "one of those bad days." Sucked out at the tables and then getting your dinner knocked over. When it rains, it pours. Right?

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: "Heads up is lasting forever," said Snoopy who is covering the event. I sat in the stands for a bit with Benjo and saw Nordberg, Mike Gracz, and Layne Flack playing online poker.

Jen Mason sighting! Everyone's favorite British poker player is finally here. Over the previous three summers she was here as a reporter for Blonde Poker. This year, she's here as a player in a couple of events.

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: I have been lurking around the final table area hanging out with Flipchip and Benjo. Heads up is almost reaching three hours in length between David Kitai and Chris Bell. Kitai almost had a 3 to 1 lead before Bell took down a big pot. Both Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren are in the crowd sweating Bell. Lindgren was on his dinner break in Triple Draw and checked up on his horse, while Gavin quickly joined a Chinese Poker game that has been going on in the second row of the stands.

Event #40 Triple Draw: 85 to go. Fossilman and Bill Chen are out in front.

Today was the first time that I saw the Mad Genius Mike Caro playing (although he might have been here previously - I had not run into him at all). He played in both events on Day 24 and is out of both.

* * * * *

9:55pm...

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: Talk about one tough heads up battle between David Kitai and Chris Bell. It's been 4.5 hours since Keith Greer busted out in 3rd place. 158 hands later, the two are still going at it. Katai has had Bell on the ropes for the last hour or so, but Bell has been staying alive and doubled up a couple of times to avoid elimination. The French/Belgium contingent are getting anxious while Bell's posse of Gavin Smith, Layne Flack,Mike Gracz, and Nordberg are paying more attention to their Chinese Poker game in the second row.

* * * * *

11:15pm...

Event #38 $2K PLH Final Table: And it's finally over. Chris Bell busted out in second place after a marathon heads up battle. David Kitai from Belgium wins the bracelet. He becomes the first player from Belgium to ever win a bracelet. And yes, another European won a bracelet. 4 out of the last 6 bracelet winners have been from Europe. Benjo was pumped because Kitai is a sponsored player from Winamax (a popular French online poker site part of the OnGame Network, and that's who Benjo works for. One of his guys won a bracelet the night after the best player in France won a bracelet.

Event #40 Triple Draw: 47 players to go. Anthony Lellouche, a high stakes cash game player from Paris, is the chipleader.

* * * * *

1:29am...

Is anyone still following along? You must be realllllllllllllly bored or a super fan. or both.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: Down to 17. Change100 and Logan are covering the event and they're down to 17 players you have never heard of before.

Event #40 Triple Draw: Day 1 is complete. Only 30 players survived the cut out of 238 runners. Fossilman is the chipleader.

Event #41 Mixed Hold'em: Man, the field went quick. 117 left out of 731. Fabrice Soulier is the chipleader. Michael Craig is busto. he waved goodbye as he headed out the exit. Tony Dunst is also dunzo.

* * * * *

3:12am...

Well, both Day 1 events are complete for the day. I'm only here waiting for Change100 and I'm too cheap to pay for a $30 cab back to Summerlin. Otherwise, I would have left hours ago to go home and write.

Actually, I'm the only one left up in the press box. It's finally quiet up here for the first time all day. Zero distractions.

The cash game tables are in full swing. One guy just dragged a monster pot because he screamed, "Ship it!" and began clapping like a drunk monkey.

I fired up Full Tilt and played some low stakes PLO since I was very tipsy. I tilted the nimrods at my $25 table by donking around and hitting a couple of big draws. I love the anger that spews forth in the chat box. One guy was bitching and moaning about a sick beat I put on him. I mocked him in the chat and said if $25 meant so much to him then he shouldn't be gambling. I love it when people fly off the handle about bad beats. Sure, everyone is entitled to get upset. But when the malcontents bitch and moan about the hand thirty minutes later and don't give up, it really displays that they have zero concept of poker and they're just a narcissistic baboon.

Event #39 $1.5K NL: Down to 13. Unlucky 13. 4 more unknowns bust and I get to go home.

* * * * *

4:20am...

You know it's a long day, when I have time to pimp out two smoke breaks. The late night one is brought to you by... PokerStars.